How Difficult Is it to Implement Robotics Into a Manufacturing Plant?

No longer are robots in the workplace a part of science fiction. Robots are the way of the future and have been embraced by multiple industries for the power and efficiency that automation offers.

The time to implement robotics into your manufacturing plant is now. But perhaps you’re concerned about the difficulty of such an endeavor? Robotiq provides a simple checklist you should be using to show yourself and your employees the simplicity of implementing robotics into your plant.

Some of biggest obstacles that manufacturers foresee when they’re looking to implement robotics include:

Cost of integration

Training

Return on Investment (ROI)

Safety

Feasability

However, today’s solutions address all of these concerns. Manufacturers are seeing that the addition of robotics offers the ability to expand, increase efficiency, handle more requests, increase the overall quality of their output, and it represents a major leap forward in innovation.

1. Room on the Floor – Prior to ordering robotics or equipment, find out the exact dimensions that you’ll need and measure these on your plant’s floor to ensure everything will fit properly. It’s important to look at more than just the base of the machine’s size. Consider the reach it has and how much space it will need to fully function when you’re doing your measurements. Consider space for other machines or workers as needed.

2. Additional Power Requirements – The second things to consider is the power you will need to make the robots function properly. While it’s easy to assume you have the extra electricity from the power grid to install these robots, you should absolutely check. Take a look at your power grid’s consumption versus the amount you have to work with. Follow that up by looking at the power needed for the additional robotics.

3. Employee Training – Your employees will no doubt have concerns about switching over to automation. They will need to know how these new robotics work and what features are in place to ensure their safety. Thankfully, many robotics providers also offer training courses for employees who will be working alongside the robots or working in partnership with them if they are collaborative models.

4. Designing the Cell – At this point, you will need to help the application engineer understand the space and product flow needs for the robot. The goal is to minimize the robot’s overall space usage, while still allowing access for operators, materials, forklifts, and so on. The application engineer will conceptualize both 2D and 3D models of the system’s layout and integration in the factory floor, with all levels of employees contributing information to help bring the project to fruition.

5. Budgeting – The final consideration is perhaps one of the most important. When planning out implementation of robots, you’ll need to communicate with all levels of the plant, including the employees, to understand how it will affect the current budget.